Absolutely Do Not Touch Eldmia Egga

Chapter 673

It was so frustrating to think that the timing of the situation was just right, but the situation wasn’t as bad as I thought. On the surface, Tie’s explanation was that he wanted to use the Dragon Blood incident as an excuse to get to know her while also getting help finding Yekaterina.

I asked where he got this information, and got an unexpected answer.

“They said that this was information that was passed from the Dwarf Royal Family to the Empire, and from the Empire to the Itisel Royal Family. They relayed it through an information agent instead of the Royal Family themselves, in case of any unexpected movements.”

“Information?”

“Yes, it was Sikmel.”

Wow, what is this? Is this really the Sikmel I broke my leg with? The current situation is ridiculous, but the fact that he has grown so big that he can act as a royal messenger is also quite shocking.

“But it seems like the process of moving wasn’t all that smooth. There was friction with the dwarven royal family when renting the train, and then there was some heated debate in the empire they arrived at later. I couldn’t hear the specifics, but it seems like they’re still tied to the empire because of that.”

“What kind of authors do they do that they cause such trouble wherever they go···?”

Wherever they go, they run into trouble with the leaders. Are they some kind of group of thugs from the other world?

If it had been the western kingdoms, it would have been possible, but it was a mess that was hard to understand for the dwarven kingdoms and empires I had experienced and seen.

“So far so good···”

“I said it out of frustration, so don’t worry about it.”

It’s funny that you came to me out of the blue when you had no intention of meeting me, but I decided to let that go for now.

I didn’t know until I heard from Tieh, but the reason the royal family sent me information in advance through Sikmel was because of their attitude. Not only did they not contact me before making a move, but they also unilaterally demanded my understanding and asked me to make way, so it seems ridiculous for me to have to listen to their stubbornness.

However, Tie’s explanation was that although the royal family could formally reprimand them, it would be difficult to block their entry, so he wanted to tell them that the decision regarding this matter was entirely up to him.

I thought they would just send them back since they didn’t even have a sprout bag… But after hearing more about the situation, it felt like they opened the door out of consideration for the dwarven kingdom that had paved the way for them to move, rather than being conscious of the Lovell kingdom.

“If that’s the case, then I can understand it.”

Rather, it was a welcome one. It was as if the royal family had declared that they would not interfere at all and would just support them completely even if people came from Lovell.

In an ordinary case, it would be an extremely irresponsible statement and action that does not protect its own citizens who may be exposed to the tyranny of a country, but to me, it is nothing more than guaranteeing the right to freedom of action.

“I have to tell Catherine first.”

The best course of action would be to keep Catherine in the mansion until they return to their own country. Even if they find out Catherine is in the mansion, if I insist on not letting anyone in, they’ll just suck their thumbs.

What if I ignore that and force it out?

If you try to enter someone else’s house without permission, you will not be able to return to your own house.

◈

Esmue has been very tired lately.

There were many reasons for this, but the biggest reason was the list of impure elements that my younger brother, Etrasizel, had worked hard to select at the banquet for Eldmia.

It is not that there are too many enemies or that their actions are elaborate. Compared to the political enemies who were firmly established when she first established her power base and sucked the blood of the empire, they are just cute.

What bothered her was their diversity.

It is not simply a matter of coveting the power of the empire. Some people are moving and running wild as they please in order to make contact with the Demon King’s army because of their faith in a pseudo-religion that they have learned from no one knows where.

Just as you use a chicken knife to catch a chicken and a cow knife to catch a cow, it is only natural to use your brain to deal with your enemies. Unlike the enemies of the past who would jump in like moths to a flame if you firmly established one policy, it goes without saying that we have to put in two or three times as much thought to root out these bastards.

In the midst of all this, without any warning, the delegation from Lovell showed up on the train of the Dwarf Kingdom. From Esmue’s perspective, they were as absurd an intruder as when Eldmia first ran wild at the Academy.

Since the current emperor Pancrasi Bisttim Tel Nua could not personally attend the extremely rude visit, she had no choice but to show her face.

Even Esmuye could not have predicted that the evaluation of the ‘next’ emperor would be held back in this way. Still, Esmuye, who wanted to quickly wrap things up and focus on his main job, somehow dressed up and prepared himself to appear in the audience room…

“Our goal is to head to Itisel and confront the warrior of the demon. For this purpose, we ask that you permit us to use the gate.”

···The Lovell delegation cut into her patience by showing behavior that far exceeded her expectations.

Not only her, but even the vassals and knights of the empire in the audience room, those belonging to the princess’s faction, openly turned on the double standard. It was quite rude and presumptuous behavior, considering that the princess, representing the emperor, was meeting with the delegation, but they showed superhuman patience by not treating the delegation of Lovell like barbarians, citing etiquette as a reason.

Even those who did not belong to the princess faction were silent this time. Normally, they would have clicked their tongues at the ‘unbecoming of a nobleman’, but instead, they quietly turned their eyes and looked at Esmie, who was sitting on the throne.

“her·”

And as soon as she burst into a short laugh, he lowered his head like lightning. The look on her face that he saw for a moment was serious enough to remind him of a past he wanted to forget but couldn’t.

“Aren’t these guys just crazy?”

When she let out a foul word that shouldn’t have come out of her mouth, she made up her mind to shrink and hunch her shoulders. It was no different because she was a princess.

“If you’re not crazy, you must have ridiculed me. The difference between the two is stark, so I’ll give you one chance to open your mouth to distinguish between them and hold you accountable.”

There were only two instances in the past when Esmuye burst into laughter while sitting on that throne.

“Tell me why I should not take your wretched lives, which are nothing but a mixture of arrogance and presumption, right here and now.”

The aftermath of those two empty laughs led to her being called the Iron-Blooded Princess.

No one is criticizing her choice of words. No one is pointing out that she is spewing threats at a delegation of a country that is not even a ‘real’ emperor. The guards standing on either side of the throne are not moving at all, but their eyes are fixed on the delegation as if they had made a promise.

There is no such thing as murderous intent or hostility. It was a waste of time to have such feelings toward the little creatures that would be destroyed by a single word from the princess.

The delegation, most of whom were warriors, managed to maintain their composure under the gaze, but the diplomats, who were far from warriors, could not do so. His face instantly turned pale, and he pretended to be indifferent and swallowed his saliva.

Even if they live in a mountainous area, Lovell is a kingdom. There is common sense, knowledge, and communication. They are not stupid enough to look down on the empire just because there is no direct communication.

Rather, it was more like all this was the result of careful calculation. They had anticipated that they would not be able to meet the emperor alone during their sudden visit, and they also knew that one of the emperor’s young children would come forward to justify it.

That is why, even before the moment when the petite Esmue appeared in a robe with all sorts of fancy ornaments, he tried to guess who she was by looking at everything around him and confirming it. After seeing the reactions of the vassals who did not judge her solely by her figure and did not shout out who had appeared, he finally guessed that she was one of the weakest and lowest of the emperor’s children.

It would be absurd to not know the characteristics of the Iron-Blooded Princess, the only one among the royal family with white hair, but it is possible in this place.

The path leading to the throne was always radiant with golden light symbolizing the ether of light.

So, even though he knew it might be ‘a little’ rude, he insisted on it. The negative consequences of the bloodletting were a problem that no one could ignore, so he calculated that the empire, feeling offended, would quickly ‘expel’ them to Itisel. If the situation and place were different, it would have been a truly bold decision to shorten the time, and it was an idea that would have drawn admiration from many diplomats.

If the circumstances were different and the place was different.

If you don’t know who the other person is even after seeing the surrounding reactions and atmosphere change in an instant, you are not only disqualified as a diplomat, you are disqualified as a human being. The diplomat, who clearly recognized the situation he was in, sat down and answered Esmu’s ‘order’ while trying to hide his urge to cry.

It was a struggle to survive, not a sense of pride or professionalism as a diplomat.

“Because we can help you overcome the curse that comes from the dragon’s blood that the warrior of the demons holds.”

I have already figured out the relationship between the Iron-Blooded Princess and the Demon God’s Hero. I have heard how the Empire treats not only the Ete Hero but also the Demon God’s Hero, and based on this, I have predicted how friendly they will be to the Demon God Cult and how they will try to maintain a relationship.

The Empire can never ignore their words. That is why it was originally a word that should have been a turning point…

The response was silence.

Just that alone makes Diplomat Lovell’s already pale face turn even paler. He pretends to be calm, but his fingertips are trembling and his legs are shaking. You’re not interested here?

If that happens, it will only lead to annihilation. Not only himself, but also the royal family who accompanied him disguised as one of the delegations.

The head that had been held up proudly was about to bend by itself, and the eyes that had been trying to look at the Iron-Blooded Princess were quickly losing focus. Even so, the fact that he was somehow pretending to be calm was nothing more than a way of life that he had learned from living his entire life as a diplomat.

At the moment when her heart felt like it was going to burst due to tension, the Iron-Blooded Princess slowly got up from the throne.

“Let it go”

Without any other dramatic reaction or question to confirm the truth, she turned around and started to leave the audience room, and without even looking at the delegation, she only added one word.

“However, the Empire will not intervene in this matter in any way other than to open the way.”

And that declaration was received as a declaration of innocence by the envoys and as an extremely generous gesture by the envoys.

It was a misjudgment that could have been made because I didn’t know the truth.